Engineering Inc. - September/October 2019 - 23

FUELING THE FUTURE

Renewable resources such as solar and wind often need a backup power source.
A battery energy storage site in Pomona, California, provides a fast-reacting, 20 MW/80
MWhr source to help prevent outages and brownouts.

A different mindset about renewables is
emerging.
"Some industry experts originally saw
renewables as a disruptor to the grid," says Joe
Estrada, senior project manager at Dewberry.
"However, the outlook has shifted toward
more innovative operations with a big focus
on research and development toward technologies to improve system stability for solar
and wind generation."
According to Estrada, the bottom line is
that engineering firms are well-equipped
to address these new projects, including
microgrids. "There is high demand for development of economical and reliable energy
storage along with commercial development
of smart grid technology," he says.
These projects require increasingly
specialized expertise. "No two energy facilities are quite the same. Expert engineering and consulting will
be needed to design plants that make the best use of a location,
reliability of the energy source, type of energy required and
challenges of getting the energy to where it is needed," Estrada
says. "Engineers will be needed for preliminary and detailed
design, construction oversight, and operations and maintenance.
The advent of renewable generation in the U.S. has increased
demand for new ways of maintaining a stable grid.
Despite these advances, challenges remain. Shifting political
frameworks, changing regulations and permitting requirements
and local stakeholder involvement can result in complex processes
and long delays. Clark suggests that ACEC members keep a close
eye on policy developments but also technologies, including battery and energy storage systems.
"Renewable power generation is a dynamic market today, and
we are seeing rapid changes that can have a dramatic effect on the
use and proliferation of renewables," Clark says. Even with recent
tariffs on solar panels imported from China and the reduction of
tax incentives, Clark expects the market to advance.
DeNichilo says renewable energy generation will likely become
the norm over the next decade. Continued advances in the technology, lower cost production methods for solar, wind turbines
and other components and changing views about carbon emissions and green energy all factor into the equation.
Estrada believes that energy producers and power companies
also see huge benefits in diversifying and expanding their energy
portfolios from both economic and social perspectives. "Utilities are responding to customers' desire that they have a 'green
portfolio,' but they also are looking to include new generation
alternatives that economically compete with traditional generation
methods," he says.
In the end, it is clear that renewables along with large-scale
battery storage could fuel enormous changes in the way energy
is produced and consumed over the coming decade. In addition,
the continued use of nuclear power with more advanced hydroelectric, geothermal and biofuels could further tilt the equation
toward alternative energy.

"We could see a massive shift take place," Worthington says.
"When you have facilities generating inexpensive energy and storing it to produce inexpensive kilowatt hours, the dynamics and
economics of power generation change dramatically." ■
Samuel Greengard is a technology writer based in West Linn, Oregon.

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SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2019

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Engineering Inc. - September/October 2019

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